>> you're watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz in new york. >> what has already happened is a brazen act of aggression in violation of international law. >> strong words from the american secretary of state condemning russia. he now plans to visit ukraine this week. meanwhile ukraine mobilis forces as russian soldiers surround some military bases. >> flooding eased in southern california. some have returned home to see the mess left behind.

>> the stars come out for the biggest night, the oscars. how the awards also shines a spotlight on global issues. >> secretary of state john kerry announced he'll travel to ukraine's capital on tuesday to support the interim cabinet. after russia took control of crimea. he warned russia to step back, there could be economic sanctions and russia could be kicked out of the g8. the head of the ukraine navy was kicked out after swearing allegiance to crimea. russian troops surrounded military bases in crimea and depended military bases disarm. jennifer glasse reports from one of the military bases in crimea. >> it wasn't the day that sergei

storozhenko thought it would be. russian forces came to his base ordering him to surrender. more russians arrived, truckloads. the colonel watches and tells someone "they're here." the ukrainians move an armored fighting vehicle to the gate. there'll be no enforcements. "no one is coming from kiev", he tells me, "me and my brigade. we'll do what we can, we'll see." the commander and his brigade says, "we'll see if there'll be war." then the troops come in on foot. some civilians try to stop them. soon they had the base surrounding them. the two armies, feet from each other. >> we have a standoff.

ukrainian russian troops. they came in earlier and told the commander to give us a base. he said he wouldn't. now they are standing against each other. >> they still want the ukrainians to lay down their arms. "no deal, says the col them. if they enter the -- colonel. if they enter the territory of the base, i'll have to shoot." all they can agree on is no one really wants to start a war. an orthodox priest appeals for peace. the public is divided. some praising the russian president, others threatened by it. >> people from another country are here. what should we call it, intervention, occupation. they have no legal right to be here. but they are, in significant numbers. given the way they are setting up, there's no sign that the russians will be leaving soon. >> let's go crimea's capital where nick schifrin joins us

live. a lot has changed. what are you seeing there tonight? >> well, behind me right now it is an absolute ghost town. i mean, this city is never this quiet. it's a little after midnight or 1am. we walk the three or four blocks around where i'm standing. there's nobody here. it's eerie. you see russian soldiers occasionally happening out. they don't approach us or want us to approach them, and similar scenes across the area. we saw the russian soldiers drive about two hours here towards the russian border and you see russian soldiers digging in, setting up tents. it's what the u.s. calls total control of the crimean area. 6,000 russian soldiers are here with a lot of weapons and material. what you are seeing is military people on the island having to decide between the pro-russian

leadership and the pro-western leadership. we saw the head of the navy pledge his allegiance not to the government in kiev, but the p pro-russian prime minister in crimea. >> i swear allegiance to the autonomous public of crimea. the area of sevastapol, i swear to obey orders of the the chief in crimea. orders approved by the commanders of military units. >> to give you a sense of perspective that prime minister was chosen when russian troops entered the parliament and by gun point the prime minister was chosen. to give you a sense of what is going on russia has political and physical control. it shows a lot of people don't mind and they look towards russia more than the west.

>> you answered the question. i want to hear more. do you get the impression that a lot of people on the streets are welcoming the russians, or maybe more tolerating them. >> both. it's important that you point out the soldiers were outnumbered. the government here has been given orders not to fire back at the soldiers, but some of the troops are young, inexperienced and are looking at six, seven layers of russian soldiers. what they'll do is lay down the arms or try not to engage in them. we can't say that all the people here are the same. 60 or 70% of people that are ethnic russians, and in general crimea has never wanted to be part of independent ukraine.

as you said, there's a sizeable minority population, very much pro-western and pro what is happening ukraine, leaning to the west. you have a split population, but the majority of people seem to support russia, whether or not they support armed troops on the ground is another question. the allegiance is towards russia, not the north-west. >> thank you nick schifrin from crimea. from ukraine's south to the capital. hundreds of men of all ages are going to recruiting centres to volunteer for the armed services. jacky rowland has more. >> ukrainians are preparing themselves for war. in kiev, where there has been bloodshed people express their allegiance to ukraine, and their defines of russia. it's fighting rhetoric, and for now it still is only talk. parliament has been meeting in

emergency session. afterwards the prime minister said russia had brought them to the brink of disaster. >> this is not the threat. this is actually the declaration of war to my country. and we urge president vladimir putin to pull back his military and to stick to the international obligations and bilateral and mild to lateral agreements that were signed between ukraine and russia. >> the army has opened recruiting stations across the country. there are nine in the capital alone. at this office or the outskirts men were waiting outside before the doors opened. >> people have been responding enthusiastically to the call to mobilise. here there are young men, older men, people with military experience, people without military experience, but you

still want to take part. we have visited a total of three stations in and around kiev and in the first few hours several hundred people enlisted. >> somehow we have to win. i can tell you that we will win, but i am sure we have to win. >> i know that russia is powerful. on the other side we have friends in europe and the united states declaring support. we will fight until the end. the head of the navy was seen swearing allegiance to the head of crimea. an embarrassment for kiev, who only appointed the admiral a day earlier. they say they are investigating him for treason. this is the gravest confrontation between russia and the west. what started as a protest movement escalated beyond what most of the demonstrators could

have imagined, and it's not over yet. let's go to phil ittner, who is in kiev, with the latest development from the capital. we heard the strong statements from n.a.t.o., the united nation, the united states - is that the show of support that the ukrainian government wants at this point? >> yes, absolutely. they are craving it as a matter of fact. have you to keep in mind this is a brand new government. many of them are not career politicians. they are trying to find their way. they are trying to basically learn the job on the job. so, you know, they have got to build up their support. they have got have a stronger moral. there's a real sense here that this is a government in disarray. they are just learning what to do, they are brand new and have external threats coming from

russia. they have got to figure it out. they are also dealing with the situation that they swept away many of the people that do the job. today they announced - the prime minister announced he'd by appointing 18 regional governors to set up a network over the large country on thou function as a government. now, there has been some concern. there's concern because at least two of them are former oligarchs, men that came to power through money and cronyism. that's what many who came to the square in kiev wanted to get rid of. at the same time they are people that could do the job. the government in kiev has a serious problem. they have to form a government. they have to do the job. and they - they are not professionals. they have to learn how to do it, at the same time as facing the threat from russia. it's a precarious moment for

kiev and ukraine. >> phil ittner live in kiev. thanks. the crisis in ukraine is generating a strong reaction in the united states. mike viqueira is in washington d.c. covering the response to all this and joins us with more on this. more strong statements from the white house, how much leverage does it have in the crisis. it remains to be seen. officials insist this is not over. vladimir putin is trying to provide him with an off ramp. we have heard from senior administration officials and on twitter from secretary kerry, he's going to kiev op tuesday to meet with ukrainian officials. this as top aids say russian forces have complete operational control, 6,000 troops on the ground. there's no question they are in an occupation position, flying in reinforcements and settling in. this as new diplomatic efforts are underway. president obama has been on the

phone talking to angela merkel and david cameron from germany and the u.k. respectively, as well as the polish president. secretary kerry made the rounds of the public affairs shows on sunday, in washington, and had harsh words for vladimir putin and russia's action and talked about his consultation with european allies. >> i talked to 10 of the foreign ministers of those countries most engaged - the g8 plus others. and all of them, every one of themmer prepared to go to the hilt in order to isolate russia with report to this invasion. they are prepared to put sanctions in place. they are prepared toest late russia economically. the roouble is already going down. russia has major economic challenges. >> going to the hilt and a range of options. one thing we do know is the options are limited to economic

sanctions. you heard the secretary refer to that, and not military sanctions. senior officials that spoke with reporters an hour ago said the focus is on economic options. we are looking to deescalate this. the implication is military action or talk of military action will heighten the tension. >> mike viqueira, lie at the white house. >> members of n.a.t.o. met to discuss the crisis in ukraine, saying russia's access violates international law. >> we call upon russia to honour all its international commitments. to withdraw its forces to its bases and to refrin from any interference elsewhere in ukraine. >> joining us to talk about this from washington dc is truman project fellow jo henning. thank you for being with us. we heard the talk about sanctions against russia,

kicking russia out of the g8. do you think the options may work? >> thank you. good to be with you. it's, indeed, a grave situation. it could get a lot more serious. before actions are taken, it's useful to step back and look at the history. there's a lot of reasons why what has happened should not be terribly surprising to everyone concerned. if you look at the experience with n.a.t.o. expansion since the bucharest summit, there was a clear message from the n.a.t.o. alliance that membership action plans will not be extended to georgia. a war followed in georgia where putin felt in power to act. what you are seeing in ukraine is a continuation of the sense of empowerment and the sense that the western alliance, the european union, the u.s. are not going to resist russian actions in ukraine. >> i think before anything is done, and before anyone puts

sanctions out there and goes through the threats that are alluded to, it would behave everyone to take a realistic look at what western interests are and what we are prepared to do about them. if we do that we realise a country of 46 million who is on the verge of war does not benefit anyone in the united states, ukraine or russia. the best thing is if we have a concerted effort to bring together nations - particularly russia, because they have the most to win or lose, into a council of nations under the u.n. aegis or not to help the government figure out how to solve the situation. >> you're proposing more diplomacy? >> i don't know if it's diplomacy, but it's a rehabilitation going behind the rhetoric of threats. no doubt about it russia will suffer from the actions, it will

cast a long shadow. for those that live in the periphery of russia, it's not terribly surprising. it educated a lot of people on russian foreign policy. >> everyone gives the impression that russia has the upper hand. do you have an indication that russia may be willing to negotiate or pull back armed services or armed forces? >> i think two things. one, as you look at a country that is about to move into civil war, you have, for example, the ukrainian military - the prime minister declared that war has been declared against ukraine. there's immobilisation with the ukrainian military. the ukrainian military and the interim government, because of the circumstances, the volatility may not appreciate that they do not have support for anything they do militarily. vladimir putin foes that very

well. you have a hazardous situation where it's easy for miscalculations to occur. it cuts the other direction, in the sense that vladimir putin knows that and it's not something he desires and wants. the second point here is if you look at the russian invasion of georgia, you have a presence of forces in south ossetia that move into gorey, you have provisions throughout the country but you did not see russia try to take over the country or seriously destroy cities or industrial areas. they made a point. i think that's another thing to bear in mind here. there may be an attempt by russia to make a point that crimea is within their sphere of influence. having made the point they may be amenable to resolving the situation with respect to the possibility of chaos in ukraine. they have the upper hand in the sense they mobilized forces and have a de facto occupation and have the ability to use force

unlike the west. they do not have the upper hand in a strategic sense. they marginalised themselves and are faced with a mass chaotic situation. >> a lot can change and play out there. >> coming up later in the news cast, a look at the military might of ukraine and russia, we'll have an international security analyst jim walsh, at the bottom of the hour, at 6:30. there's more online at aljazeera.com. we have a live blog updating the crisis in ukraine. still ahead on aljazeera.com. it's two days before fat tuesday. we'll head live to new orleans for mardi gras. plus... >> i'm stand -- stephanie stanton, the rain storms in california are on the way out. was it enough to dent the drought. >> and dreams coming true - we head to the red carpet as oscar

gets ready to steal the limelight tonight.

>> welcome back. after months of drought california has seen a lot of rain. it's still not enough to ease the dry spell. stephanie stanton has more. >> it is welcome rain here in this community, an hour north of the los angeles. anywhere between 1-6 inches fell. meteorologists say it's nowhere near enough to break the drought that has been plaguing california in recent years. >> a large area is at 5-25% of normal, even after the rain fall week. it puts it in perspective, and the entire area is below 50% of normal. >> the terrible thing is not only is it dry, but because of the drains last year and the forest fires, there's flooding and mudslides. you can get hit a number of ways. >> the weekend storm in los angeles brought rain and mud flows to the colby fire burn

area. there was no major damage, k rails and sandbags set up. over 1,000 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders. meteorologists say it would take several storms like this to reach the average this seven, and that appears unlikely to happen. for now, the drought in california continues. >> all right. stephanie in california. a lot of wild weather in the west. a lot of rain after a drought this season. >> yes, it is so dry for so long. when we have all the rain coming in, we are dealing with mudslides. i know we were reading about evacuations and issues had in california. incidentally now it's scattered rain showers and mountain snow. most of the heavy rain is

hitting oregon and washington. we are seeing the total in the last 24 hours. a big event going on. we'll see the shores hit and miss off and on around l.a. a lot drier than you have been. >> as we go to the storm hitting the west, let's talk about the storm hitting the east. it's bringing ice, sleet, and we'll have serious problems on the way in the morning hours for the commute in some of our biggest cities, washington d.c., baltimore, stretching to virginia. we have snow in oklahoma. south into texas and missouri, we are getting ice. now, this is a fantastic satellite picture. n.a.s.a. took an modus satellite shot and put a photo of the - from the satellite of the land and terrain beneath.

i want to point out how great satellites are. if you look closely and see the bright white tiny lines here, that is showing you where we have more thunder storm type of activity, a lot of energy in the lines of storms, coming up from mexico into texas. you can see when you look at the great lakes, they are iced over. something else the satellite shows you - this is before the front, bringing in snow. here is where the problems are. ice storm warning for half an inch of ice. you can see the winter storm warning stretching across the area and freezing rain. that will happen tonight. south of the action, it will be rain, but we'll get colder temperatures coming in after the storm moves out fast tomorrow. i'll talk more in the coming hours about how much snow we are expecting north of the ice. >> aye, aye, aye.

groups are ramping up efforts to get the vulnerable off the streets. we look at a program in new york city where volunteers are making a difference. still ahead - two countries on the brink of war. a look at the military might of ukraine and russia. plus... >> i am proud to announce by candidacy to be the 4th governor of this great state. >> with that the mud slinging began. we go inside the texas governor's race and why it's getting so much tension. >> i'm at the mardi gras and new orleans. there's a lot of parades, partying and drinking. there's a new hangover helper out there. some people call it a little irresponsible. we have that story coming up.

>> welcome back to al jazeera

america. ukraine's president has accused russia of declaring war. they are calling up military reservists. russian troops have seized key installations in the southern city of crimea. hundreds of thousands of troops have been sent to the ukrainian border. the head of the navy was charged with treason, after he defected supporting russia. secretary of state john kerry will travel to kiev on tuesday. russia could be kicked out of the g8. >> kilmeny duchardt caught up with some people at the russian consulate. >> over 100 people marched more than 2 miles from the new york times square to protest what they call on act of aggression on the part of putin. ukrainian russian's tensions come to a boil. many of the demonstrators are worried about their family back home. >> the family in ukraine

describes the russian soldiers in the ukrainian territory. i don't feel safe for them because it's not - the russians should not interfere with ukraine. >> at the consulate and through the streets of new york city the protesters are chanting, "crimea is ukraine", they want the russian forces to deploy back to their base. let's look at how the armies of ukraine and russia backs up. ukraine's army has 64,000, a fourth of the size of russia's - 285,000. ukraine has half as many tanks, 1,100 compared to russia's 2500. ukraine's air force 225 capable aircraft.

a fourth the size of russia. >> ukraine's submarine count is lower, they have one, and russia 64. >> let's bring in a research associate at the massachusetts institute of technology. jim, when you hear the numbers, if you live in ukraine it's sobering. does ukraine have a viable option when it comes to using the military to defend against russia? >> they are up against it. you identified one area, on other areas as well, russia has a big advantage. when you look at military mancheste balances you look at the size of the economy, how much mun is spent on defense, training and economy - russia is ahead in all the categories. russia has the advantage of geography in this case, because they are already in crimea.

so if ukraine's purpose is going to be to expel them, you'll have to cross into a peninsula, and an opinions favours the defence, because there's a choke point. but there are other things too, and some benefit ukraine. some ukrainians may feel as if they are directly threatened here - obviously, their country is being invaded. under those circumstances, psychologically you are willed to fight and stand up greater than an invading force. >> despite the odds are against ukraine, do you feel it could launch a military response against russia. >> i know their mobilising. in part there's one other big thing. it may be the militaries that fight the wars. governments wage them. their government is a week old. seven days ode. whatever it is. it's - the opposition was divided. they have to consolidate a government and have decision makers before they can execute a

military operation. i think - who knows what the crystal ball will say. i'm guessing they will not leap to a large-scale military scale because they are not prepared to politically or militarily. >> last weekend we had a bunch of experts. i asked them does it look like russia may move in and make a land grab. almost everybody says there's no way russia would do that, it's crazy. yet here we are. how unpredictable has the situation been. >> it's funny that you say that because i talked to my friend across the hallway, and we are talking about how russia may respond. maybe they'll destabilize the government. she said, "no, they'll take crimea. the question is are they going to want to go beyond that. is that enough for them to satisfy the domestic audience or position to bargain. crimea is an inviting target for

russia in ways other parts of ukraine would not be. it may be that this is where the battle will stablilize so on the one hand ukraine forms a government and is able to organise itself, and then the russians sit on this territory. that is my guess. you are right to point out that experts are wrong, and events can happen that trigger decisions that no one sees coming. >> that's my point, making it dangerous. it's hard to tell what will happen next. i want to get your thoughts on the reactions from n.a.t.o., the united nations, the united states. no one is talking about sending soldiers. there's talks about sanctions, applying diplomatic pressure. how much hope is there that that will work. >> it's a great question. at the end of the day russia cares about its border more than its sanctions or other sort of

chas tiesments from the u.n. or being kicked out of the g8. they'll have to pay a cost. is it worth paying? my guess is in their mind it is. they care about their borders. they were invaded twice by germany. even though it seems impossible, they value the border states as a buffer. i think they are willing to pay a price >> how does this look in the future now? does russia retain control of crimea and the borders redrawn. do you expect this to stir up so much anger within or outside of ukraine that it could lead to blows. how much does it look moving forward? >> that's a great question. i don't know. each possibility you outline is in play, in the mix. as we discussed a moment, something could go crazy and there could be a shooting war that starts up. i don't think it will happen, but it's possible. one is that the russians will

sit on this, it's absorbed, they bargain it in favour of a more favourable russian-leaning government. a possibility is crimea - they are ethnically russian, they like russia, but it's not true of everyone in crimea. maybe there could be a terrorist pushback. there may be costs that russia is not anticipating that they may have to pay because not everyone is thrilled to have russia there if it's extended. >> jim wall, from mit, thank you for your insight. always good to talk to you. >> great to see you. >> we'll have more in "the week ahead" at 8:30pm. we'll look at what moves russia may take and the options open to ukraine and its allies. the annual meeting of aipac.

president obama will meet with binyamin netanyahu. six senators wrote obama a letter acting for sanctions against iran. >> texas is holding elections on tuesday, and a candidate and standing out. wendy davis, gained tension when she staged a filibuster for abortion rights. >> wendy davis staged a filibuster last summer, sparking a movement for men and women across the state. >> you all have inspired every member in the senate democratic caucus. >> riding that momentum davis threw her hat in the ring to become texas governor. >> i'm proud to announce my candidacy to be the 4th governor of this...

>> she has gotten attention. 27% of funds came from outside of texas, compared to abbott's 2%. some political strategists say it may not be enough. cal jill son is a political scientists at smu and explains the democratic hopes of turning the state purple is wishful thinking. >> the problem she has is texas is a conservative state, even if you think it's heading to a competitive, democratic state 25 years from now. >> rubbing on a story of struggle davis advocates for improved education. >> by the time i was 19 i was on my way to a divorce, living in a tiny trailer with my daughter amber. >> greg abbott attacked davis's hard-luck biology as embellishment saying she didn't divorce until the age of 21 and portrayed her as a flip flopper

on guns. >> wendy davis changed on a lot of issues. >> she hit back, using ted nugent, who has admitted having sex with underage girls. >> it bothers me that greg abbott is partnering with ted nugent knowing he's a predator. >> wendy davis can't some compete with greg abbott. >> i think greg abbott will beet wendy davis by high single digits. over the last 20 years competitive democrats lost. when i say that wendy davis is likely to lose by seven, eight, in my opinion she's running more competitively. >> all of you deserve to have

your voices heard. >> democrats appreciate supporting a candidate who they see as having a fighting chance in a state that hasn't elected a democrat since anfernee hardaway richards. >> former australian prime minister julia gillard has a mandate to educate children. focussing on low income areas. she tells ray swar es about getting women into leadership positions. >> i think our world is undergoing a change about gender economy and more women going into politics. i think it's important that more women go into politics for the future. if you believe merits distributed evenly between the sexes leaders should be around half men and women. if we get there we have to fix a series of things like girls'

education. if you don't get the foundation stop you will never get equal outcoles. >> education is changing the nation of who can aspire to political leadership, isn't it? >> i think that's true. if we look at some of the poorest countries in the world, we'll only see women come through and take their equal place in business, in pol it cans, in law -- politics, in law, in every walk of life if we get education there and equal for girl children. >> stay tuned to "talk to al jazeera" after this news cast to see the full interview with julia gillard, coming up at 7:00pm eastern. >> time for sports. ross is here with more. the super bowl is behind u the olympics is behind us. now it's time to talk about baseball. >> spring training. the boys of summer are back on the diamond. the l.a. dodgers got a chance to go to arizona. the boys in blue are favoured. they had a rookie scene.

this year joc pederson is hoping to do the same. he has all kinds of skill and confidence thanks to the support of family. >> i'm pretty talented and blessed that i have the abilities that are - i mean, i can hopefully make the game fun to watch. >> joc pederson may not be a household name but has the makings of being a star. joc pederson was drafted by the dodgers in the 11th round of the draft and two years later was named the organization's minor league player. joc pederson delivers in multiple facets of the game. >> everyone delivers. the way he plays outfield. and what we think. he is what you want really, as far as the wing is speaksed to look. >> i pride myself in having skills in all aspects of the game, and i work hard doing good for myself and help the team win. steel a base, drive a pal, make

a diving catch. >> stu pederson says family plays a big role with joc pederson and where he is. he draws inspiration from champ, who has down syndrome and who is a constant positive influence. >> he's there to support us through the good and bad. he'll send a text. if it's going good it's great it will cheer you up still. it's awesome to see someone in a good mood in his situation. he doesn't feel bad for himself. he loves it. he's smiling. i wouldn't be the person i am or anyone in my family would without him. we are special to have him in our lives. >> that special bond is not just helping jock, but his younger brother tiger who was drafted by the dodgers in 2013. champ was a big part of the team, given the pregame

motivational speakers. >> play the game. for boys and men. >> joc pederson and tyger give back to champ, coaching him when he competed in the special olympics and travelling with him when he goes to events for the best buddy. >> we travel with him, and he opens up to a new world. there's so many different aspects of what he brings to the table and how special we are to have him. it's awesome. >> jock drawing inspiration from his brother. >> thank you, appreciate it. >> the build-up to fat tuesday is on in new orleans. thousands of revellers are joining a 5-day mardi gras party. i've seen a lot of mardi gras, how does this compare to others? >> it's great. the sun is going down now and as

you and i both well know the party is just cranking up. this is one of the largest parades in mardi gras. this is the time that people look forward to the entire year long. we'll get you a look at the parade route. this is along napoleon avenue. thousands come out to this. a city that goes from 400,000 to 4 million every mardi gras. it's a big business. $13 million is what people spend to ride in these parades. again, as many people as we have that come out here, you have visitors from all over the world. this is what they come to see. a lot of people that haven't been here before. it's a little weird. they are out here begging for plastic beads. it really is a great tradition, a great time. we - there's a little wrench, a little disparity in the system,

in that a lot of people come here and they take too much of the city, a lot of concept, they take too much alcohol in. there's a new clinic in town that offers an intravenous therapy, a therapy for people to get rid of their hang offers. many doctors don't want people imbiding or having that much fun at mardi gras. an interesting situation and a lot of people taking advantage. we have a story to tell you about t i want to hear more about that. you say the clinic puts an iv into people's arms to cure their hang over. basically it's a bunch of nutrients. you have to pardon me. it's iv nutrients that can rehydrate the body. when people indulge a little too much they wake up feeling dehydrated. this rapidly hydrates them in

about an hour. an interesting somewhat controversialed that. >> what they do in new orleans. we look forward to that story. live in new orleans, where the mardi gras celebrations are in full swing. >> still to come - americans at rick. one group's mission to get the homeless off the streets as frigid weather sweeps across the country. >> it's time for the most stressful words in hollywood, and the oscar goes to - we'll see where it goes to next.

>> one of the biggest nights in hollywood is here in just over an hour from now, the 86th academy award will take the

global stage. ellen degeneres, comedian, hosts the awards, broadcast over 225 countries. we have a live look at the red carpet outside the dowl by theatre. geena joins us live. there's a lot of anticipation over who will win this year. >> there is. there's a lot of anticipation because we have in my opinion nominees for best picture, and five in all the rest of the categories. but really there shouldn't be too many surprises. there are clear favourites going into the show tonight. the three-way race in best picture is expected to be between "gravity," "american hustler," and "12 years a slave," with "12 years a slave" being the favourite, and the best actor category is matthew mcconna hay, but the critics say he'll probably win and dallas, his co-store, jared leto should sweep in the best supporting

actor. there's surprises in the snub area. they are tom hanks. he was not nominated for "saving mr banks", for "captain phillips." that is a best picture and robert redford overlooked for his film about a silent sailing journey. >> i'm going to go offscript. where are you standing and who are the people next to you, looks like they are shouldering into your shot. is it that crowded on the red carpet. look at that. >> pan over, this is cathy lee and al standing next to me. i have no space. i'm backed up against cathy lee. >> we are all one. we are all stupid. >> they give us about 10 inches for all of n.b.c., including al jazeera, which is an affiliate of us, obviously. so we are crammed in. you can squeeze to the right. kt l.a. and the other stations.

you can see how many athletes are competing for space. i have about 6 inches of space. a good thing i didn't have lunch. >> i have to say, it says a lot. i didn't realise it was that crowded on the red carpet. what else have you seen? talk about the fashion and the stars you have seen pass by. >> well, right now the red carpet doesn't have the heavy hitters like sandra bullock and leonardo dicaprio. they'll come in about an hour, just before the show starts. that's when the big a listers will walk down the soggy red carpet because of a rain storm. we have producers, directors, screen play writers and the like making their way into the theatre. a lot of traffic on the red carpet. >> geena live for us on a crowded red carpet. we appreciate your reporting out there. >> and with another winter storm

sweeping across the country hundreds of thousands of homeless people will suffer on the streets. volunteers from coast to coast are working to get the less fortunate out of the cold. we have the story of a program. >> maybe we can go to the bus station. >> patricia moon works as a new york public defender during the day. this weekend she's a team leader working to defend the homeless from the elements. moon and her team are volunteers of the sixth annual don't walk by outreach, local non-profits like the balry mission enlist patricia and her crew to get the vulnerable off the streets. >> it's about talking to people and seeing what they need and what they are looking for, and if they want shelter or food or clothing. >> the team starts with training and orientation at a church. then they hit ut streets, stopping by a bus stationism.

>> it's a rescue mission and the barry mission. the church on 120th street. people can have a meal. >> team members talk to several people, inviting a number back to the church. six accepted. >> once someone accepts an invitation from the street canvassing team, they are brought back to the host church where they are fed a hot meal and given basic attention. >> it includes medical and eye care by chan, an optometrist who offered his services after having done similar services overseas. >> we have gone to peru to help the people there, people who can't afford it. so we wanted to do something closer to home. >> across the country in a winter that's brought record cold, homeless organizations intensified the outreach. in philadelphia they ask the pub

hick to help find people on the streets and in drummoyne people were sleeping in chairs as beds filled up as the latest storm approached. back in new york, while everyone got a hot meal... >> at the resource table we can give you a bed. we don't want anyone back out on the street >>..not all of those that came to eat stayed off the streets. for moonand her team it was a success. >> this is a great way to show love to people. it sounds cliched but it's like i'm here for you, and talk to me and let me see, you know, what we can do for you. >> over the past month the volunteers helped close to 600 homeless people in new york, offering them a chance to get off the streets out in the cold, at least nor a while. >> finally, this is a tradition.

people in northern italy are hurling oranges at each other. it's an odd thing to see. it's a tradition in the city. hundreds of people dress up in costumes every year, and they go to town throwing oranges. they are re-enacting the battle of the oranges. according to lemened a local woman -- legend a local woman chopped off the head of an evil ward. the fruit represents the head and that's why they throw it. 550 tonnes of oranges are shipped for the event. honestly, it looks like it hurts. >> that's the show tonight. thank you for joining us. i'm jonathan betz, i'll be back in an hour with more news. headlines after the short

. >> >> you're watching al jazeera america. i'm jonathan betz. russia makes a declaration of war after they seized key installations in the southern

region of crimea, and are building up troops along the ukrainian border. >> secretary of state john kerry travels to kiev on tuesday. earlier he told russia to step back and said there could be economic consequences if it did not. thousands of protesters are in the venezuela capital, angry about high inflation in -- and high crime. >> people are mourning the deaths of those killed in western china. 10 assail ants attacked a train station with knives, killing 33. police shot four dead. the chinese government calls it a terror attack. one of the biggest nights in hollywood are here. stars are lining up. comedian ellen degeneres hosts this year's awards, which are broadcast across 225 countries tonight. those are the headlines on this sunday night. "talk to al jazeera" featuring

australia's first female prime minister is next. for updates all day long from all over the world, it's easy, go aljazeera.com.